A Team Divided
by TR Feigning Innocence
Summary: KuroXSaku Towards the end of the race for Sakura's feather, both she and Kuro are pulled back to Yuuko's world, where the witch proceeds to grant Sakura's wish. Sakura had no idea that he would actually want to come with her!


A/n – Okay, so this is just a kind of experiment on my part, because I just finished reading episode 175 of Tsubasa and it occurred to me that Kurogane and Sakura would make an adorable couple, so R & R, kay? Oh, and this is post Piffle Country and I deviate my own story line from there. There will be new countries and people entered into the story. If you have any ideas for new worlds that you would like to see, comment and tell me.

Summary: In the Country of Piffle, Kurogane, Fai, Sakura and Syaoran must fly in a race to win a feather of Sakura's memory. Throughout the race many obstacles have knocked out other competitors, making it slightly easier for our group to win. That is, until Fai and Syaoran are knocked out as well. Now it is up to Sakura and Kurogane to win, but that is not going to happen. Near the end of the race at the waterfalls, Sakura and Kurogane fly through, only to be transported to the same dimension the time witch Yuuko resides in. Once there, Yuuko again sends them to another dimension, for that is what Sakura wishes. She did not expect for Kurogane to come with her, yet he refuses to let her travel on her own.

Chapter One: The Dimension Witch

She tightened her grip on the handlebars of the dragonfly, forcing herself to concentrate on winning and not worrying about Syaoran and Fai-san. Sakura zoomed past another contestant that got hit by a geyser, knocking it out of the sky. Though she didn't know the person, she was worried about them as well, hoping they were not hurt. She dodged another jet of water just in time, pulling the "wing egg" out of the way. Another geyser shot out of the ground to the right, engulfing yet another competitor. She frowned, before determination lit upon her features and she pulled forward, reaching second place and flying close beside Kurogane-san. A happy smile threw her lips up and she glanced at Kurogane-san, before pushing ahead again as he pulled away from her, dodging yet another geyser. As she maneuvered the small racer forward she came closer and closer to the waterfall. She grinned again before speeding up and running through it. There was darkness for a moment, before she was on the other side. She could see the cheering faces of the hundreds of people gathered below and began to wave in greeting before she was distracted by the odd shaking of the "Wing Egg." The floor boards seemed to rattle beneath her and before she could stop it the handlebars jerked out of her hands, forcing the machine to fly forwards. She fell backwards, slamming her back against the rim of the side, Makona slipping out of her grasp and over the edge. She quickly stood up and took hold of the bars in an attempt to take control, but the moment she touched them the dragonfly flipped over, pouring her out of the machine, a large scream ripping out of her throat as she closed her eyes in fear and dropped into the sky.

Before she knew it she was engulf in a large warmth and could feel a pair of arms wrapping around her. She immediately stopped screaming, but the fear didn't leave her as she clung to the one that held her. She looked up and found Kurogane's fierce features staring ahead. Confused, she tilted her head back and felt her eyes widening before they were engulfed in darkness. They were trapped there for what felt like hours, though she would later realize was merely minutes, before they were outside again, standing underneath the harsh pelting rain, much like the first time they had visited the witch.

Kurogane still held her close to him in an effort to stop the rain from hitting her as he stared at the witch, annoyance and anger filling his eyes. "Witch," he growled, tensing his hold on Sakura as he glared at the other woman, "Were you trying to kill us?!"

"Calm yourself Ninja," she said quietly, glancing down at the small watch she held in her hands. It was silver in appearance, but tarnished and dirty looking. "I have brought you here for a reason. Would you like to hear it or will you continue to attempt to amuse me?"

He stared at the woman, a snarl dropping upon his features as he opened his mouth for a sharp retort, stopped only be the small fingers lying over his lips. "Kurogane-san, it would be best if we listened to what Yuuko-san has to say…" She gently slipped out of Kurogane's grasp and stood to bow before the time witch. "Good evening Yuuko-san!" Her voice was cheerful as she spoke, though you could tell that it was filled with curiosity. She stood and smiled up at the older woman, her head tilted to the side as Kurogane stood behind, fuming.

"Good evening to you as well, child," Yuuko replied, a smirk gracing her features as she smiled sweetly at Kurogane. "And how has your journey been thus far?"

"It has been a fun adventure, Yuuko-san, but I don't think it would be quite as fun if everyone had not been there thus far." She smiled, her face innocent and cute, like always.

Yuuko smiled at her as well, before glancing back at Kurogane, the smile changing into a smirk. "It is about to get much more interesting, Kuro-pon." she said, using one of Fai's nicknames. "Because you are to travel on your own, just the two of you." She motioned for her aid to come forward. In his hands he held a watch very similar to the one that Yuuko held, but this one was clean and unmarked. The boy came forward and handed the small watch to Yuuko, before walking away again, back inside. "You, Sakura," she said, looking towards the younger girl again, "you secretly wish to travel on your own so that the others do not get hurt because of you." She watched with interest as the girl's eyes became shuttered and her shoulders seemed to tense. "That was your wish as you saw your friends crash in that race, was it not?"

Sakura stared at the witch with a small amount of surprise, before she nodded weakly. "Yes, that is my wish." She could feel Kurogane's stare from behind her and she suddenly felt ashamed. Turning quickly, she fixed him with an emotional stare. "Kurogane-san, you have to understand! All this time I've been watching as you and the others risk your life for me, trying to find feathers of memory in worlds were not sure they even exist in! In Outo Country, all three of you were hurt, while I was sleeping the entire time!" She looked away from him, a small tear slipping down her cheek, before glancing at him again. "You have no idea how horrible it is to feel useless and watch your friends fight for their lives while you do nothing."

He narrowed his eyes as he listened, partially understanding what she was saying, but he never would have guessed that she felt so strongly about the subject. He remained silent as she finished speaking, before walking forward and gently setting his palm on the top of her head. He wasn't sure what he could say to her, he had no idea how to set aside her worries. "I do not understand fully the helplessness of being in your position, but I do know what it's like being unable to help those you care about." He was thinking of his mother and father when he said this, so he really did understand. He looked away from her for a moment and at the Witch, before offering up a small smirk. "I do not blame you for trying to save those you care about from further hurt."

"There is a price of course," said the Witch, who remained silent throughout the conversation, "You must take Kuro-pie here as your body-guard and you must gather not only your feathers, but a certain item from each world that I require. A treasure hunter, as it was." She tossed the tarnished watch to Kurogane. "That is to be the thing that transports you from place to place. Again, you will not be able to choose the world that you will land in and the rules will still be different from world to world."

"But what about Fai-san and Syaoran? We cannot simply leave them in Piffle…" Sakura looked to the Time Witch with pleading eyes, uncertainty filling her eyes. "We can't simply abandon them!"

"Quiet child, you need not worry. The magician and the boy will remain in Piffle, frozen in time. When you join them again it will be as if nothing has happened." Yuuko smirked, before looking to Kurogane again. "To use the watch, you simply open it and turn the hand back three times. You will then be transported to another world. If you wish to communicate with me, you merely need turn the hand forwards three times. Is that understood?"

Sakura hesitated, unsure if this was the correct path to travel. If they left and the others were to be frozen in time, then what would happen if things progressed so much so that nothing would ever be the same? What if they were forced to leave Fai-san and Syaoran behind forever? She couldn't bare that. She looked up at Kurogane, a small frown on her face, her eyes watering slightly. "Kurogane-san, I dragged you into this mess. I would understand if you didn't want to continue with me."

Kurogane glanced down at the watch in his hands, running his thumb over the dented metal, wiping away some of the raid drops that continued to fall. Traveling with Fai and the kid meant more able fighters, yet traveling with just the princess meant only one person to protect instead of three. For the time being at least. But if they were two teams searching for the feathers instead of just the one, things could go much faster. Dropping his hand from her head to her shoulder, Kurogane turned Sakura around to face the time witch. "I do not like the idea of leaving the buffoon and the kid frozen in time. There is no telling how long it would take just the two of us to gather feathers." He held the watch up in front of him, dangling by a thin silver chain. "What if we stayed divided as two teams, searching through different worlds for the feathers. We would get twice the feathers in half the time."

The witch was silent, running the idea through her mind; she glanced at the way that the ninja was standing closer to the princess, as if trying to protect the girl already. Oh yes, these two would definitely make an interesting pair. Smirking, she nodded her accent. "Yes, that will do fine. Perhaps you will meet again in the same world…" Smirking again, she took a few steps back from the pair, her eyes filled with humor. "Very well then. I wish you a happy and easy journey."

He looked down at Sakura, before putting the watch in her small hands. "This was your wish," he said quietly in explanation. She took the small thing hesitantly, before nodding, fierce determination filling her eyes. She popped the thing open and turned the dial backwards three time, the hand in the watch turning with the movement. A bright flash surrounded them, before the light disappeared, leaving an empty courtyard of falling rain.

Yuuko glanced up at the sky, a small smirk gracing her features. "You won't win," she said quietly, "You will never defeat the will of these children Fei Wang…"


End file.
